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OPSEU Local 294 strike against CarePartners has ended

ST. CATHARINES, ON, Nov. 27, 2015 /CNW/ - The OPSEU Local 294 strike against CarePartners Niagara is over. The local and the employer have agreed to proceed to mediation, backed by binding arbitration, to resolve all outstanding issues.

Members of Local 294 will return to work starting December 14, eight months after the strike began.

"I am so proud of my co-workers and the strength they showed during this long strike," said Local 294 President Erin Warman. "The support of the community was fantastic, and we can now return to our patients and give them the care they need. Home care is a vital and growing part of our province's health care system, and much work remains to be done to ensure patients receive the high quality of care they deserve."

"I am proud of the members of Local 294 and the courage and determination they showed during this long strike," said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "Our members can now go back to the work they love, which is helping people who need medical care."

"This strike may be over but the crisis that afflicts our home care system is not. The government's goal is to shift more and more of the services once provided in hospitals to the home. But the home care sector is increasingly dominated by for-profit companies. The province must return to first principles, which means our health care system belongs in the public sector. For-profit companies only drain scarce resources away from patients."